Do not make the mistake of believing that this is not the most cutting edge subject. It is up to you to make your print work or film[s] interesting and visually beautiful. You are in the most important part of your course, where you have been exposed to a wealth of design experiences and have practised representing narrative visually on many occasions. This brief is also an exhibition brief – it has been written to allow you to exploit a range of design skills and demonstrate them at the end of year show.
RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
At the beginning of your research and development approach this subject from an objective point of view. Conduct primary and secondary research – discuss the subject of ‘parents’ with friends and family.
You need to show clear evidence within your research that you have gathered information from various sources eg:
- Journals
- Websites and blogs
- Books
- Films/documentaries.
Use a plethora of methods to plan. You may want to develop a timeline or use design-sheets to map out initial ideas. You could use mood boards or brainstorm ideas that involve primary and secondary research mixed in with your own initial sketches.
You must carry out personal research from contextual sources, both primary and secondary. Research is not simply downloading pictures off the Internet – there has to be a high level of debate within annotations. Visit museums and galleries, borrow books, collect ephemera, take photos, draw sketches. Even consider questionnaires and interviews. Question the work you find, do not simply rely on what information a journal or website provides as it may only be factual or to do with the production values. Also remember – Google Image Search LIES! Get in the habit of reading design blogs and agency websites, museum and gallery sites – choose your sources carefully. In your researched visuals question the aesthetics set against its target audience [demographics], think long and hard about the semiotics involved and always judge if there is a better solution to the design problem and link to your own ideas development.
You will submit a written proposal for your project, which will form the basis of negotiationing your personal response with your tutor. You will also set up a blog, which will contain research and show the story of the development of your ideas. You will also use a sketchbook to record your visual mark making, planning, experimentation and development work. The final outcome will be negotiated dependent on your chosen pathway, but a compulsory requirement is that it will be exhibited at the end of year show.
Your development must be in-depth, informed by research and exploit a wide range of media and materials as well as considering the narrative and target audience.
You will find that people have extreme views: Philip Larkin is quoted as saying “They mess you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had. And add some extra, just for you.” An interesting point of view but not one that all of us may share. Type in parents into Google, as I did, and you will get about 239,000,000 results in 0.12 seconds. So the online world clearly is not short of thoughts and opinions on this subject.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have parents and not everyone that has parents is lucky enough to have good parents. The media often report on the horrendous crimes that some parents have committed against their children – Birmingham is sadly under the spotlight once again with a new reporting of child abuse. We need to contribute, as designers, to the social wellbeing of the next generation. As visual communicators we can make small but significant contributions by undertaking free charitable work. We can offer our design services to organisations that educate and help vulnerable people. This brief is about heightening your understanding of social and cultural awareness through self-negotiated research and applied design.
Week 1 to 5: is solely about research and development of abstract and personal experimentation. See below for specific deliverables.
Week 5 – 8: is about development of a more solid commercial outcome – see below for specific outcomes.
During week 6 you will use your findings and produce a sub outcome:
You will produce a brand entitled ‘Mother and Father’. You are to extract the more commercial and obvious aspects of the subject and create a poster that advertises ‘Mothers and Fathers’. To give you a point of reference your posters and adverts should be aimed at potential ‘Foster Carers’. In week 6 you will be given specific copy and logos to work with.
Week 9 – 13: Realisation of final outcomes
Following presentation and assessment, there will be 3 further weeks to prepare for exhibition. Final scale outcomes are not required for week 13, but a mock up or plan will be.
The compulsory deliverables will be as follows:
1. Blog – a digital sketchbook containg research and ideas development
2. Sketchbook – for all your manual experimentation, development and research
3. Mother & Father Branding & Advert
4. Evaluation – 500 words
5. Exhibit at the End of Year Show.
The other deliverables depend on your chosen pathway and are negotiated with your tutor. For example, the minimum requirements would be:
• Animation: 30 seconds, DVD case, disc label and booklet
• Zine: 24 pages minimum
• Font: A-Z, numbers and punctuation plus a poster/booklet (see Barnbrook.net)
• Branding: Logo, corporate stationery and brand guidelines
• Other outcomes could be a range of posters and postcards; an advertising campaign across at least 3 types of media; a 3D element or models, and illustration book – at least 8 illustrations, typeset and produced in book format.
Deadline:
Wed 11th May 2011 - Presentations
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